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Tony-Winning Musical Hamilton Is Honored With Its Own Craft Beer

Tony-Winning Musical Hamilton Is Honored With Its Own Craft Beer

Hamilton, a Broadway hip-hop musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, has won every award a musical can win (and then some). The Hamilton team left the Tonys last night with 11 awards, including Best Musical. The cast’s performance of “Yorktown” was introduced by the Obamas.

Have I seen it? Of course not (I don’t have those kinds of connections), but I have swung by the Richard Rodgers Theatre ten minutes before curtain several times to try and nab an elusive single seat. No dice — that theater is packed. And if you can think of a better reason for a New York City–based, Broadway-themed craft beer startup to whip up a tribute brew, I’ll eat the three-point hat I’m saving on the off-chance I ever get a ticket.

Actors and beer and spirit enthusiasts Mark Aldrich and Jimmy Ludwig, better known as the Happy Hour Guys, are the masterminds behind the Broadway Brews Project. Their unique craft involves pairing the cast and crew of a Broadway musical with a local brewery to make a themed release, with a portion of proceeds benefitting charity. The debut release pairs Hamilton cast members with the Bronx’s Gun Hill Brewing for the creation of a Belgian farmhouse-style ale, called Rise Up Rye. According to Rolling Stone, the match makes a lot of sense, considering that the brewery is located adjacent to the site of a Revolutionary War battle. (From the brewery’s site: “We hold this truth to be self-evident: that all beer is NOT created equal”).

Check out the release party below, visit the Happy Hour Guys’ Vimeo to watch the brainstorming and brewing processes that went into this delicious collaboration and look forward to their next musical beer in the near future.